tomato

noun

to·​ma·​to tə-ˈmā-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce tomato (audio)
chiefly in Britain, eastern New England, northeastern Virginia, and sometimes elsewhere in cultivated speech
-ˈmä- How to pronounce tomato (audio)
 chiefly in Northern US  -ˈma-
plural tomatoes
1
: the usually large, rounded, edible, pulpy berry of an herb (genus Solanum) of the nightshade family native to South America that is typically red but may be yellow, orange, green, or purplish in color and is eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable
2
: a plant that produces tomatoes
especially : any of various varieties of a tender perennial (Solanum lycopersicum synonym Lycopersicon esculentum) widely cultivated as an annual
How is tomato pronounced?: Usage Guide

The original pronunciation of this Spanish loanword was with stressed \ä\, as was also the case for potato. The older \ä\ pronunciation of potato is found in Robert Burns' poem "Holy Willie's Prayer" and persists in some Scottish dialects. Perhaps because potato has been part of English longer than tomato, its pronunciation has been anglicized in most dialects, with the stressed \ä\ vowel becoming \ā\, like the a in Plato (from Greek) and dado (from Italian). The pronunciation of tomato began the same journey of anglicization but was halted halfway between, so that British and some Eastern American dialects have the older \ä\ while the others have the newer \ā\. Tomato, being the name of a New World plant, might have entered the English language first in the Americas, where it would have had more time to undergo anglicization in American mouths. The various pronunciations of tomato are all acceptable in standard English.

Examples of tomato in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Explorations Despite the outsize interest in the unexpected journey, this mission was not record-breaking: A 371-day stay from NASA’s Frank Rubio, for example, was much longer (and included intrigue over a rare tomato grown in space that went missing!). Jackie Wattles, CNN, 22 Mar. 2025 Use It In Tomato Pie Southern tomato pies are typically packed with a mixture of cheeses—sometimes even pimiento cheese! Josh Miller, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2025 Two whole tomatoes were stored in direct contact with raw shell eggs in a cooler. Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 21 Mar. 2025 Made with tomato water and white balsamic condiment, Remy’s Ratatouille is a fine dining twist on the provençal vegetable classic from Ratatouille, while Tony and Joe’s Spaghetti is the legendary Lady and the Tramp spaghetti dish featuring veal confit and a Comté cheese emulsion. Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tomato

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier tomate, from Spanish, from Nahuatl tomatl

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tomato was in 1604

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tomato.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tomato. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

tomato

noun
to·​ma·​to tə-ˈmāt-ō How to pronounce tomato (audio)
also
-ˈmät- How to pronounce tomato (audio)
plural tomatoes
1
: a usually large rounded red or sometimes yellow pulpy berry that is eaten as a vegetable
2
: a widely grown South American plant of the nightshade family that produces tomatoes
Etymology

derived from Spanish tomate "tomato," from the name for this plant in the ancient language of the Aztecs

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